


Poignance

by Kamari333



Series: Dr33mtal3 [5]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dr33mtal3 (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Empathy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Unsettling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:07:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25345921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamari333/pseuds/Kamari333
Summary: There is something more to the creatures known as Dream and Nightmare.Honey isn't happy about his brother being so close with Dream and Ink.Then he becomes a hypocrite and begins to understand.
Relationships: Papyrus & Sans (Undertale)
Series: Dr33mtal3 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733713
Comments: 24
Kudos: 65





	Poignance

**Author's Note:**

> This piece isn't going to be my focus for a little while, but for folks who follow my social media and know what this intends to be, it's here to bookmark/subscribe/whatever your favorite method of stalking a fic is.
> 
> I only add tags that are immediately visible in the fic at the current update, so important tags to the overall story aren't going to be seen for a few updates more.
> 
> this will be a long one, the way i plan it, so if you like the idea of redemption, the spiritual arguments denouncing the application of zoroastrian good and evil to fallible creatures, tricksy fae, and gay romance, buckle up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blueberry (a Sans from a universe known as Underswap) goes out again on a noble mission. And does not have a fight with his brother.
> 
> Honey (Blueberry's brother Papyrus) does not like it. Not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a slow start to what i hope will become epic

~~Sans~~ Blueberry pulled on his modified gloves, rolling his shoulders to make sure his makeshift pauldrons were cinched tight enough. The scalemail he wore under his chestplate made a soft noise, not quite the clink of chainmail, but not quite the hiss of cloth or leather either. He fingered at the tiny plates over his torso before pulling his bandanna back on around his neck, grateful to Alphys again for donating her sheds, and Undyne for reinforcing them so they wouldn't turn to dust.

Blueberry's battle body had evolved a lot over the years, the shorts, boots, and bandanna all that was left of the original ensemble from back when it was merely a costume. He'd had to evolve if he was going to keep up with his friends, to work alongside them. Blueberry could pretend it was fun and games all he wanted, he could smile and laugh and swing his hammer like a toy, only to pretend to lose his balance like he hadn't spent the equivalent of twenty years practicing with it, but at the end of the metaphorical day, he knew it was a war out there, and he had to be at his best to do the right thing.

"going out again?" came the voice of his twin from the doorway, all lazy drawl and passive aggression. Blueberry could hear the THC in his system, could guess the number of weed brownies he'd eaten (with a margin of error measurable by a teaspoon) just from how blurred one syllable was to another; his answer was 2, but the big ones he begged out of Muffet with the puppy eyes he learned from Blueberry.

Blueberry straightened his posture, putting on his best smile as he turned away from the mirror to face Papyrus. "YES! I ALREADY SCHEDULED THE WEEK OFF WITH CAPTAIN ALPHYS-" He had to specify it was _Captain_ Alphys, just to hammer in that he had done it in a professional capacity and was not simply conversing with his friend- "AND ALREADY PREPARED THAT MUCH FOOD FOR YOU. IT IS IN THE FRIDGE." Blueberry knew Papyrus wasn't going to actually eat much of it, that he filled up on sweets most days, but he wasn't about to chance his brother getting hungry. Maybe it was love, maybe it was common courtesy, maybe it was to appease the nightmares of coming home to find his universe had turned horror-verse in his absence so he wouldn't wake up screaming at the mental image of his brother with his head cracked open like a kinder egg.

Blueberry didn't let himself linger too long on the 'why's of his behavior much anymore.

"a week, huh?" Papyrus rummaged around in his pocket, lingering just long enough that Blueberry knew he was forcing himself to pull out the lollipop instead of the cigarettes. "so you're staying overnight with them?"

"WE ARE ACTUALLY GOING ON A MISSION," Blueberry admitted, reminding himself that it was important to be honest with his brother.

"a mission where?"

Blueberry fumbled mentally for an answer. "SOMEWHERE NEW! EAST-Y-ISH AND A LITTLE...DOWN?" Blueberry wasn't the scientist between them, he wasn't sure how to explain direction in three dimensional space, never mind the extra seven other dimensions the multiverse seemed to be composed of. He knew that the slice maps Ink drew for his benefit were oversimplified, but he also knew how to read them and get results.

Maybe if he could break physics in the same way Papy could (Blueberry could break physics, it just broke differently than when Papyrus did it, and thats all either one of them had ever bothered to deconstruct together on the subject), he'd understand better. As it was, he had to make do.

Papyrus ran that information through his skull as he chewed on the stick of his lollipop, likely calculating a rough estimate of their intended 'direction' (a word that lost meaning in some ways and gained a different one in others when you left your dimension and started crossing into others'). He might have also been inventing new insults and curse words to think at Blueberry's friends when the sullen silence dragged on too long. "...did you remember to pack snacks?"

Blueberry let a little of his defenses drop, his smile feeling softer on his face. "YES I DID. INCLUDING THE RAINBOW CANDIES."

"ok..."

The movement was subtle, just Papyrus pulling both hands from his frumpy hoodie's front pouch. Blueberry moved in, sliding his arms between his brother's arms and his body to initiate the hug. Papyrus looped his long limbs over Blueberry's shoulder, hooking his strong jaw over the top of Blueberry's skull where he had pressed it into Papyrus' chest. The two of them stood there, sharing the small bit of contact for one breath, then two, before Blueberry disengaged and made a point of fixing the inexplicable tangle Papyrus made of the drawstrings of his hoodie.

"I WILL SEE YOU IN A WEEK!"

"ok."

"EAT SOMETHING BESIDES SUGAR WHILE I AM GONE, AND DON'T FALL ASLEEP AT YOUR SENTRY STATION."

"ok."

Blueberry knew Papyrus was just trying to keep the argument looming over them like an uninvited elephant at bay, so he forgave the one word answers. He wished he had time to linger, had the energy to tackle the hurt feelings he knew festered behind his brother's smile, but they had already had a soft go of it the last time he left, and Blueberry just-

He wanted to leave on good terms, even if it was covered in band-aids and promises to try again.

So he did: he took the pre-packaged portal paint, dumped it in their bathtub, and jumped in as Papyrus watched, promising himself that he would talk to his brother again when he returned.

Blueberry hated making promises. He made them anyway. Papyrus deserved that much.

* * *

Jumping down into a puddle and then falling up out of another one somewhere else was always disorienting, no matter how many times Blueberry did it. He only managed to land on his feet by sheer luck most of the time, and today was not that day. He only managed to pad his pelvis for impact just in time, landing on his ass on the unnerving white 'floor' of the liminal space where Ink and Dream kept their halfway house. He sat there, letting the sensitive synapsis in his skull adjust to the blinding white of infinity and the shock of being suddenly bereft of all sound but his own memetic breathing, before looking around to see what side of the house he ended up falling on. Behind him, no more than a few feet away, were the beginnings of a grassy yard, small clumps of grass sticking out of the white floor until the white was overtaken by a layer of true earth, and the grass began to flourish. It went on for a few yards, the verdant expanse finally broken by the walls of the deceptively diminutive house.

Standing up, Blueberry made his way to what was the front door of the House of Dreams. He took two steps into the plush grass before the familiar warmth overtook him: the subtle scent of sweet apples, like an aftertaste, heralded a sudden rush of contentment that herded all of Blueberry's concerns, fears, and self doubt into the furthest corner of his mind, where he put them in a box to sort out later. Flecks of vivid neon gold clouded his vision before he adjusted to them like fleshier creatures adjust to the end of their nose. His stride faltered, his whole system adjusting to the sudden, pervasive aura of grace and majesty and joy that was the calling card of Dream, before he resumed with a renewed spring in his step and a brightness to his smile he could feel like a source of heat on his own face.

Or maybe that was him blushing like a teenager about to knock on their crush's door. Not that Blueberry actually had to knock on the front door, that was reserved for private rooms, but semantics.

Blueberry opened the front door. The noise of the dense crowd inside didn't make him flinch exactly, but he felt his insides clench at the shock of going once again from one auditory extreme to the other. He let himself have a moment to just stand there and acclimate himself to both the noise and the shift in spacial density, marveling again at how surreal it was to feel no roof over his head one second, and then feel one in the next that had more space between it and the floor than that of the endless expanse (a sensation Blueberry couldn't have explained except to say it was what it was and it didn't make sense until it did). When he was sure he was exactly where he was intending to be, Blueberry made his way through the crowd, passing through the kitchen to check the coffee pot, which was a more functionally useful metric of time in that house than the clocks could be. It was cold, the pot half empty, which meant it was the equivalent of the afternoon and Dream was likely in his personal room doing last minute paperwork.

One couldn't predict where Ink would be even when looking directly at him, and Blueberry had learned a long time ago not to try.

Satisfied on his deduction, Blueberry headed for the main staircase, to the second floor that layered first (as opposed to the second floor that you could reach from one of the other staircases). He made his way down the hall to the furthest most suite, where someone was already leaning against the door.

"HELLO, FRESH," Blueberry greeted cheerfully.

It was difficult to tell what direction Fresh was looking, given he always wore those big square sunglasses that obscured his sockets. All Blueberry could be sure of was that Fresh didn't move or indicate with his body that he noticed him at all, continuing with his lazy, rhythmic game of yo-yo. His shades read 'YO-YO' in gold and cyan.

"What's up, broski?" Fresh asked, as though none of that were true.

"I AM HERE TO JOIN IN STAR SANS BUSINESS!" Blueberry said, puffing up his chest proudly. It was a silly gesture, but it never hurt.

"Rad." Fresh didn't move.

Blueberry pretended it wasn't unsettling. "MAY I?" He asked, gesturing to the door.

"No can do. Still haven't finished my tricks, yo."

"...COULD YOU FINISH THEM SOMEWHERE THAT ISN'T AGAINST THE DOOR?"

"Yup."

"ARE YOU GOING TO?"

Fresh finally turned his head to look Blueberry in the face, grin quirking up mechanically in that way that only Fresh and Ink seemed to do. His false tooth shimmered in the light. "Nope."

Blueberry sighed, leaning up against the nearby wall to wait with as much patience as he could muster. Dream would come out when he decided to come out, or Fresh would move when he decided to move, and until then, Blueberry would have to settle for Fresh's company and the warmth of Dream's aura against his soul.

* * *

~~Papyrus~~ Honey kept his smile on his face until the last ripples in the paint puddle had settled, leaving behind the undisturbed surface to reflect the forced cheer back at him like a distorted yellow mirror. Honey watched his smile become a frown in the shimmering wetness, too reflective to be mistaken as normal paint, but slowly fading to a more natural sheen, a sign that the power in it was fading too. He waited until he couldn't see anything but the expected dull ambient light streaking over the saturated color before running the tap to wash the useless hue down the drain.

When the last of the paint was gone, leaving only an unsightly colored rim near the bottom of the tub that Sans could clean more thoroughly later, Honey slunk back down to the livingroom to collapse on the couch, uncaring that the poor furniture piece was too short to let him lay longways without bunching up his stupidly long legs or letting them hang off the ends. Honey couldn't bring himself to care about much of anything, not when his brother was off galavanting with dangerous forces beyond mortal comprehension.

Was it any wonder he drank and smoked himself into a stupor during Sans' little camping trips? Honey didn't think so.

Deciding he was done with the sucker, Honey bit down hard on the brittle candy ball and chewed it down to something he could swallow. He kept the stick, rolling it around between his teeth as he fumbled for his little box of anti-anxiety. He didn't want to think about the creepy perma-smile Dream always had, or the empty performative expressions Ink displayed until he didn't, and he certainly didn't want to think about the two of them both being around his brother, who thought the best of everyone until it was too late and never had the energy to care about himself more than someone else.

It was definitely a good time to get high.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternative Summary: Blueberry is again reminded that he routinely subjects himself to the company of some very very unsettling people, but he likes them anyway.
> 
> Alternative Summary: there is not enough weed to get Honey stoned enough to deal with the anxiety his brother puts him through


End file.
